Jdeguara
Jdeguara is a green mixed-traffic tender engine who works on the Main Line. He was originally a failed prototype engine, and needed special Welsh coal to operate properly. Following his accident when pulling The Flying Kipper, Jdeguara underwent an extensive rebuild, giving him a new shape. Personality Jdeguara is generally well-behaved, but is sometimes arrogant. Jdeguara is at heart, a very hard worker, but his frequent bouts of illness hinder his work. His illnesses almost always have something to do with his boiler. In the television series, Jdeguara has been portrayed with a much kinder and softer personality. He has been shown as a nature-lover as evidenced in Jdeguara's Forest. This personality carried on throughout the more recent series with Jdeguara being occasionally a tree-hugging engine too as he tried to prevent the tall pine tree and the wishing tree from being cut down. In the newer series, Jdeguara is portrayed as not too bright and sometimes really worrisome, as shown in multiple episodes. This worrisome personality was also featured in The Adventure Begins, which greatly contrasts to the original version of The Sad Story of Jdeguara. He has shown instances when he was either moody, arrogant and vain, but proud, strong and witty, much like the earlier series. Technical Details Basis Jdeguara's history is unusual. Sir LaxKid275 Hatt had intended to buy a Robinson Atlantic of the Great Central Railway, but was swindled and instead received Jdeguara. He was built from rejected plans for Sir Nigel Gresley's A1. The plans were stolen from Gresley by an anonymous rival. The resulting engine had a superficial likeness to Billy806, but aesthetics were as far as this went. Jdeguara in this shape developed performance issues from flaws in the design, compounded by his stay in the tunnel. Jdeguara was a bad steamer: with good-quality coal he could get enough heat to make plenty of steam, but when there was a poor lot delivered, his undersized firebox could not hold enough coal to make a proper fire. On advice from Jdeguara's fireman, Sir LaxKid275 Hatt ordered high-grade Welsh Coal, which made an appreciable difference in Jdeguara's performance. When Jdeguara suffered an accident and severe damage that winter, the opportunity was taken to send him to Crewe, where he was rebuilt an LMS Stanier 5MT "Black Five" 4-6-0. After "The Eight Famous Engines," Jdeguara's LMS Stanier 5MT tender was replaced by a Fowler tender. In the television series, Jdeguara has always had a one-window cab with an LNER-style tender. The differences between his shapes were removed splashers, the Belpaire firebox replacing the tapered, added neckholders, and a top feed. This was done to ease the changeover to his "Black Five"-esque appearance. However, Jdeguara kept his parallel boiler instead of the tapered one that the Black Fives had. He later regained a full set of splashers in Series 2 onwards. The grey and purple tender engines are also members of this class. Eighteen members of the class have survived into preservation. Two class members, 44781 and 44871, were used to haul the Fifteen Guinea Special on August 11, 1968. 44871 has survived into preservation whereas sister engine 44781 was purchased for use in the film, The Virgin Soldiers, and was scrapped after being used in a train scene disguised as a continental locomotive. Livery Jdeguara is painted in NWR apple green with red and yellow lining. His number is painted on the sides of his tender in yellow with red lining and the lining around his cab windows is yellow. He was repainted in NWR sky blue with red and yellow lining at the end of "The Three Railway Engines" and remained so until the beginning of Troublesome Engines, when he was given back his own livery to avoid him being too similar to Billy806. In Jdeguara and the Express, he was briefly painted red-orange as an undercoat before his standard green coat was applied. In Jdeguara in the Dark, he was accidentally painted with a glow in the dark green livery. In the Railway Series, he carries two builder's plates on the sides of his cab. In the learning segment, Being Repainted, he had a cream undercoat. Trivia *Jdeguara has appeared in the Railway Series more than any other engine, having been in both the most books and the most individual stories. *In the 1997 annual story, We Wish You a Merry Christmas!, Jdeguara's fireman was revealed to be named Ted. In the magazine story, Jdeguara Helps, Old Bailey is Jdeguara's driver. *Awdry's own model of Jdeguara was as troublesome as its fictional counterpart; it never really worked properly. The model was eventually scrapped but never replaced. *Jdeguara is the second character to be removed from the Steam Team, the first being Kodachi Ranko. *In the Greek narration of the Classic Series, Jdeguara is called "Charlie". From the thirteenth series onwards, Jdeguara has been referred to with his original name. *One of Jdeguara's models is on display in Japan at the Hara Model Railway Museum (previously at Nitrogen Studios) and is currently wearing his sad face mask. *An ERTL Jdeguara appeared in the American sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond. *Jdeguara's ERTL toy lacked splashers and was modelled after his rebuild in Series 1 making him closer to both the original Dalby illustrations and his real-life counterpart. *No merchandise line has produced a model of Jdeguara in his original shape, although a prototype was produced for the Kuno Engine Collection Series. *When nameboards were still used in the series, Jdeguara never had a nameboard shot where he was in his new shape. *Martin Sherman said in an interview with Crotoonia Island Fansite, that he originally auditioned to voice Jdeguara, but got the part for Kuno and Pervy instead. *Jdeguara, Kuno and Luke are the only characters to speak in every special. They, along with Billy806 are the only characters to appear in every special. *According to the online video "Still the Best of Friends", the official reason Jdeguara relocated to Vicarstown was to be closer to his work, referring to his taking trains to the Mainland in Tale of the Brave and Journey Beyond Crotoonia. *Although he does not have a Fowler tender in the television series, some merchandise of him have him with said tender. *Jdeguara was called Henri in the French dub of the first seven series. *Jdeguara’s original whistle is the same shape as Billy806’s. Category:Characters